Video Calling
by StreeperDWP
Summary: Miranda and Andrea are living separate lives. Until they aren't.


A/N: Well its certainly been a while! 6 years since my last story and now that I finally have the time to write I'm hoping to get back into my favourite couple. Thank you to those who have kept submitting I live for your stories. Here goes nothing.

Chapter One:

Taking a deep breath Miranda leaned back into her office chair, pulling her glasses away she rubbed at her eyes and relished in the silence. It hadn't been long since her divorce from Stephen and she wasn't accustomed to nights in silence. There was usually some sort of golf show playing in the other room at unreasonable volumes and Stephen drinking her whiskey cabinet dry.

The front door opened she sat up and looked at the time on her laptop she sighed, the book was getting later and later, something she would need to berate the art department for tomorrow in the morning brief. With this month's deadline looming ever closer the pressure was on to produce excellence once again. As soon as she heard the door shut she headed to the hall to pick the book up. Heading back into her office she sat at her desk and opened the book.

The post it's from the previous night looked as though they had not been touched. 'In for a long night' she thought. She began scribbling on the pages and making notes on people's incompetency.

She had been writing for around an hour and was about to close the book for the night when her phone rang. Looking at the caller ID she could see it was Cassidy video calling from her fathers. She smiled and answered the call;

"Hello darling, what are you doing up so late on a school night?" Miranda said, closing the book and walking to the living room, popping the book in the hallway as she went.

"Nothing, just watching a movie, all of our homework is done don't worry" Miranda was so proud of her girls, approaching 14 they had taken everything in their stride and were growing up to be wonderful, strong, smart, and independent young women. "We were just checking to see if we were on for Saturday, shopping and lunch? Remember like you said?"

"No Bobbsey, I'm so sorry but the deadline is so close, I'm going to be working all day on Saturday" Miranda's heart sank when she saw the disappointment in Cassidy's face, Caroline rolled her eyes in the distance and Miranda heard her say 'Told you so'. Caroline turned her back to the camera and walked out of the room. Cassidy who took after her father's temperament, cool, calm, and collected replied "It's ok mom, we will do something with dad or Lola" Miranda cringed at her ex-husbands newest wife's name, she was a 20 something bimbo who had nothing about her. Maybe that was the point.

"Ok Cassidy darling, I truly am sorry. We will go out for ice cream and candy floss on Sunday. Will you tell your sister?" Miranda tried

"No its ok, don't make promises we both know you won't keep." And with that Cassidy hung up. Her words stung like a wasp to Miranda, she had let her twins down, again. So much had happened over the last 2 years, and nothing had gone to her plan. She had hoped with giving Nigel a little more responsibility the work would lighten up and she would be able to spend more time with her girls. However, just the opposite had happened, in having such a tight hold at work for so long she had also shot herself in the foot in doing so. No one could do what she does.

Miranda stood and padded barefoot to the kitchen, pulling out the white wine in her fridge she reached for a wine glass and poured a rather large glass for herself. Grabbing the glass and the bottle she made her way upstairs and ran a bath. Well-deserved after the week she was having. And it was only Tuesday.

_**Across town. **_

Andrea stared at her laptop, jeez this freelance work was not easy. When the muse wasn't there it just was not there. She had been scrolling on multiple sites in an abandoned effort regain some sort of flow for hours now. No such luck. She tapped at her keyboard

'One fine day…..'

Clicking backspace and slamming her head against her table she gave up. Closing the laptop down she headed towards her kitchen and poured herself a glass of white wine. She sauntered to the front room and slumped down on her old beaten couch, phone in hand she scrolled down her newsfeed. Scroll. Scroll. Scroll. STOP.

Andy sat up to attention when she saw the headline

**PRIESTLEY FINDS NEW BEAU**

Opening the article, she glares at a picture of Miranda leaning into a kiss with an unknown male. The article read;

'**Miranda Priestley was spotted at the weekend in a downtown restaurant with an unknown gentleman. Sources report that this comes on the back of the Ice Queen's divorce 1 year ago and will be a developing romance to watch over the coming months' **

"Pfft that could mean anything!" Andy shouted at her phone quickly clapping her hand over her mouth as to not wake Nate from his slumber. Looking towards the bedroom she relaxed back into the sofa when she saw no movement.

Andy went on to read the article rolling her eyes as she went, just knowing how embarrassed Miranda would be at the suggestion of even being seen with such a shmuck. She zoomed in on the photos of Miranda, wishing it was her who was being pulled close into a kiss, even if it was on the cheek. Dreaming it was her who was sat at the dinner table lit by candle light watching Miranda drink wine and chat about her day. Andy locked her phone and threw it to one side, she picked up her wine glass from the coffee table and took a huge gulp thinking to herself 'I really need to finish this assignment'

The next day Andy woke to her apartment door slamming, 'shit' she thought as she pulled herself off the couch. Her head pounding, she realised that due to the copious amounts of alcohol she had consumed last night she had passed out on the couch. Nate would be pissed, she knew it was early and confirmed it by checking her phone, 6am and Nate didn't need to leave until at least 7:30am. With the damage already done Andy stumbled to her bedroom and slumped down on the bed passing out almost immediately.

**Across town**

Miranda stepped out of her steaming hot shower and stared at herself in the mirror as she wrapped herself in her towel. Pulling at her face she sighed at the bags underneath her eyes from lack of sleep and the two bottles of wine she had consumed last night.

"Looking old Priestley" she said to herself as she pushed toothpaste onto her toothbrush. She quickly got herself ready, pulling on a pair of nude tights, slipping into a navy-blue pencil skirt and a white turtle neck. As she walked to her bedroom door she coiffed her hair, took a deep breath in and made her way downstairs.

She poured herself a fresh cup of coffee into a flask that Nancy had already brewed and nearly puked at the sight of the oatmeal and berries carefully placed on the breakfast bar. Exiting the kitchen, she grabbed her coat from the closet donning a blue paisley scarf and pulled on her leather gloves the twins had bought her for Christmas last year. Grabbing her handbag and the book she headed out into the street where Roy was ready and waiting.

**Across town**

Andy pushed her eyes open and squinted at the light now blaring through her window, sitting up she instantly thought to herself 'coffee. Now' she pulled the duvet off of her and padded to the kitchen, putting the kettle on the stove waiting for it to boil. Andy grabbed her phone from the coffee table in the living room and checked the time. 9am, maybe Nate had gotten over his mood by now.

_Andy;_

_*Hey babe, sorry I didn't come to bed last night was up late trying to finish off my assignment and must of fell asleep on the couch. Will make it up to you tonight! Netflix and chill? * _

Andy smiled at her cover story and fired off the text. She pocketed her phone and moved to the kitchen where the kettle was now whistling away, pouring herself a rather large cup of coffee she sat down at the table and opened up her laptop firing up her emails.

Immediately she saw an email from Lawrence, her agent.

_ .uk_

_*Hi Andy, hope all is ok. We were just wondering over here when you were going to get a first draft to us on the art deco piece we tasked you with. Could you pop into Elias Clark today and just have a chat with our publicist I think she has a few ideas as to how she would like it to go. _

_Thanks, give me a call if you have any questions._

_Lawrence Peters_

_Managing Market Coordinator _

_Kilo Publications _

_New York *_

Andy's heart started to palpitate. Issue number one, she hadn't even started her most recent assignment and issue number two. Elias Clarke. Really. Andrea Sachs going back to that place, after Paris she hadn't even contemplated going back there. She shivered, what if she bumped into Miranda, she hadn't seen her since that day outside of Elias Clarke. Andy now imagined herself walking into those huge doors going towards the elevator and Miranda standing there waiting for her. What would she say to her? Would she apologise? Would she defend her decision? Of course not, she did it all wrong. She walked away. Andy shook her head and began to type a reply when her phone binged. It was Nate

_Nate; _

_*No, your laptop was left open. I checked you haven't even written a single word Andy. We need to talk. I can't keep supporting the both of us on my wage. Will speak tonight, if you are home. Also can you replace the bottle of wine you drank, I got that from work*_

Andy sighed, she knew it was only a matter of time before Nate gave in, he had been so pleased when she came back from Paris and told him what had happened "About time you did it Andy!" he had said "You were so unhappy Andy" how wrong he had been. He had been even happier when she told him she had the job at the Mirror, but it wasn't her. She didn't report like a tabloid journalist. She never got out, she never saw people or interviewed people. It was worse than being Miranda's assistant, at least every day was a challenge at Runway. He was not happy the day she came home, told him she had handed her notice in and that she was going to be a freelance journalist. That was a year ago now.

She decided that the best plan of action was to not text him back, try and begin her assignment and attend her meeting. Even if it was at Elias Clarke.

She quickly rang Lawrence who confirmed it was indeed on the 3rd floor and that she needed to ask for an Emily Suarz. She was instructed to take any writing material she already had and preferably a strong and well thought out idea of what she wanted. Emily was expecting her at 1:30pm. She had roughly three hours to do two weeks' worth of research, a plan of how she wanted to play it and at least 1000 words to present to said Emma Suarez.

3 hours later Andy had a portfolio full of newspaper and magazine clippings. She had printed and highlighted any articles of importance and had managed 754 words. Not bad going. She grabbed a quick shower scraped her hair into a messy bun, threw on her only designer jumper she owned, a pair of black skinny jeans and finished getting dressed. She spritzed her perfume, grabbed her purse and assignment materials and headed out of the door down the stairs towards the subway.

Andy walked up to the entrance of Elias Clarke she was 20 minutes early but had hoped she had missed the lunch time rush. She was right, the lobby was almost empty. She spoke to the guy at the reception who had been expecting her and luckily did not recognise her. She rode the elevator to the 3rd floor and gasped as the doors opened.


End file.
